TUMOR TISSUE AND PATHOLOGY SHARED RESOURCE Project Summary The Tumor Tissue and Pathology Shared Resource (TTPSR) consists of three well-integrated laboratories, the Tumor Tissue Lab, the Human Pathology Lab, and the Comparative Pathology Lab, with one reception point for seamless operations. The Co-Directors of the Shared Resource are Edward Levine, M.D., and Barry DeYoung, M.D. The Managers of the three laboratories are Greg Kucera, Ph.D., (Tumor Tissue Lab), Shadi Qasem, M.D., (Human Pathology Lab), and David Caudell, D.V.M., Ph.D. (Comparative Pathology Lab). There are 6 technical staff members supporting the Shared Resource for a combined 4.16 FTE. The mission of the TTPSR is to facilitate translational cancer research by collecting and supplying high-quality, well-characterized human and animal tissues (neoplastic and normal); and providing pathology services to Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center (WFBCCC) members. The Specific Aims of the TTPSR are to: 1) Collect and supply high-quality, well-characterized human and animal tissues (neoplastic and normal); 2) Provide scientific and pathological expertise related to tissue collection, processing, histological and immunological staining, and evaluation to support the development of clinical protocols, grant applications, and manuscripts; and 3) Provide pathology services for human and animal tissues for cancer investigations. Since the last competing renewal, the TTPSR has been enhanced by the addition of the Human and Comparative Pathology Laboratories, which provide much-needed resources to WFBCCC investigators. The Human Pathology Lab works closely with the Tumor Tissue Lab for quality control of samples and provides clinical pathology expertise to investigators. The Comparative Pathology Lab provides unique samples and pathology expertise for a variety of experimental animals ranging from rodents to non-human primates. These labs are equipped with state-of-the-art instrumentation that are overseen by certified pathologists and trained staff. The TTPSR maintains a web- based database for interaction of investigators with Shared Resource personnel and provides access to banked tissue inventories. At present, TTPSR has available over 44,180 tissue samples and collects tissues from approximately 1,100 patients per year. The Shared Resource provided services to 13 members during the most recent funding period: all of its users were WFBCCC members; 69% of whom have peer-reviewed funding. In the previous funding period (2006-2011), 261 samples were distributed, compared with 1001 samples for the current funding period (2011-2015), representing a 3.8-fold increase.